Humidity controlled valve



J. H. sl Ps N 1 I HUMIDITY CONTROLLED VALVE 7 Filed AugijQ, 1952 June 11; 1935.

whieh in geiierelgwill openglquielz h m tlrfallse bel 3 defin T 11 -3 A urr tthertobject is to provide ah miidity c'onitjrouew provide a valve inohiding an operating lev erthaj.

mine44,,10rngia. .35"

valves and lparticulaflyflto YSHJVBYS for automait Cally la n be, sim l of w t y" to "#hh .midifierl'system ,i eee'o danc ith the humijdit at the point of'c ont 1.

humidity hr ez tchesh a predetermih hen the valve which includes 'a'. water-tight, .peckless ah flexible joint, between'the yelye operator ai drthe valve easing. More particularly, an object is it .extehdsthrbugh a flexible iiiteillie bellowfs fo 'm ing part or the "valve housing the en angemen lows opposes movementlof theopei ating lever by invention will :be apparent f o n;v the following iri'g drawing, in which I and "ably is;integrawvimqa skeleton .tbltacket l lffthat pertureqflug 3, for securinjthe qoptrg welveito a support.

valveto' a watei supply pipjegi ot showti. [Apor in alinement,withitheibushingt f; t' The valve lchamb 1K8 is separated from the a removableblug I I is "threaded, into the 0 ar horizo rital section "611 hevi g zinjloutlet u whiohis substantielli' larger thanit he calibrated opening} of the measuring bushing; Q The iippe rbortion of the member Ills i eouhterhofedftobrovide'aguidewayiiiwhichthe An jec o he; nvention i o r d mm ple' and; rl ed yalv efieonstruotio which; how- :7

lowe'gcylimirica l lpozftion I5 o'fjth'ejvalire member yiiumbflx, motmqvin, it t h HQsiinjsoh;whiston-alemiNi. as l'iznr he" BahnsonpCompanml Winston-Sawfly H acorpo fatlon oi North Cgrolina emic 1 6; MetWi W thejvalve is raised fro xhfits seet and, Rbovethe fluted portion lithe yalve member has a portiox iH 3 ([6 of i educeddigmeter, whiehterminates -in anW Coupling 20 for comiecting the valveto thefwa'ter tem, not shown,

Th 'operatinghmefiiberifoi' the irelve coihpii ses" A removghlep lug l 8 is threaded into the casing 1 I in line withthejvalve member and terminatesmain extehsiop 1s, which-limits the lift of the valve;- One wtll of the outlet ,chamber l-l is? providedj with j a, threfadd port to receive 1% pipe a leverfll whieh'has eJn' openin'g flhof les's di m; tha e gedl e, he d ibut ih wi which the cylindrieal portio "lief thef valv ij'i mayibe forced with gpresgm; th jl sai'rg hgemefit i preventi g eceideiital separation of the operat-' ins leve 'erid the valvemember in! the event tha it" 1 p i L 1 e wen-a h a l 1 er openi ig22, fand between the 'cylin be rit'libwatrcllyorat; an; engleto theeikis ofthe posi iom-me ii;zsj s connecte to braeket 2 "by l 2 3 which is clamped" over an enlarged opening" 24. tin that wall of the valve chambelr 8 which ad A l g ,jaeeh'tgthefhygi ostatloi lelenientfl 'l'he bellows; The valve oasihg is proyided with'aflthreadecljproper isfsoldered orweldedlto'its eiid member's nipple!ior 'eceii ihg'a coupling niemberJi tht j" I r I I H provides a convenient [means forfeo rir'iectihg the; passes 'gthi oiigh thehellowsflto make} that joiht,

' h e ,h "w rti t f'r e utl fl d tn uev my N pple opens into eh icetesf with the 2 B end thelev'er biyot 21 in that adjustment.

fahgl, afte tighteningtheboltto clampfthelug The hygroscopic control unit is preferably of the type including a plurality of strands of paper which are uniformly loaded, the tensile stress and number of strands being so related that the load on the paper will never exceed its elastic limit. Control units of this type are described in detail in Patent No. 1,804,079 of Frederic F. Bahnson, and in his copending application Serial No. 478,761, filed Aug. 29, 1930.

As shown, the control element comprises a plurality of strands of paper 30 which extend between a lower movable frame 3| and an upper and relatively fixed frame, not shown, which is mounted upon rods 32 that are fixed to an annular base 33. Annular plates 34 of heat-insulating material, such as molded phenolic resins, are arranged between the base 33 and the bracket 2. Both the skeleton form of the bracket and the heat insulation are essential when, as is frequently the case, the temperature 'of the water passing through the valve casing differs materially from room temperature. When the transfer of heat is not thus eliminated or reduced, relatively cold or relatively. hot water in the valve casing may cause. such uncontrolled changes in the dimensions of the supporting rods 32 as to produce a marked variation in the intended constant humidity.

The lower frame 3| is pinned to a connecting rod 35, and a bolt 36 extends loosely through the lever 2| and is threaded into the rod 35, being locked in place by a nut 36'.

The operation of the control unit is as follows? Assuming that the humidity is at or above the predetermined value which is to be established by the controlled fiow of water to a humidifier system, the hygrostat exerts little or no upward pull upon the lever 2 the valve member is seated and water under pressure fills the inlet chamber 1, the valve chamber 8 and sylphon bellows 23.

This water pressure tends. to expand the bellows,

thus exerting a force on lever 2| in the direction indicated by the arrow A. Since the pivot pin 2'! lies above the line of application of this force, the free end of lever 2| is pressed down wardly upon the seat member l3, and the valve member is held in closed position by the water pressure in the valve chamber 8.

With decreasing humidity, the paper strands 30 contract and raise the lever against'the pressure exerted by the sylphon bellows. At the predetermined value for which the hygrostatic control element is adjusted, the lever 2| engages the enlarged head l1 and lifts the valve from its seat, thus permitting water toflow to the humidifier system to maintain the desired humidity.

The subsequent expansion of the paper strands with increasing humidity permits the lever 2| to fall and the flow of water forces the valve to its seat.

Particular attention is. directed to the fact that the valve passage M, is much larger than the,

calibrated orifice 9. The significance of this relationship is that the water pressure in valve chamber 8 is greatly. reduced when the valve opens. The force exerted by thesylphon bellows is thereby greatly reduced and the valve moves quickly to full open position.

Similarly, when the valve approaches its fully closed position, the pressure builds up rapidly in the chamber 8 and the sylphon bellows, and moves the. lever 2| quickly'to its extreme lower position, thus permitting the valve to seat quickly and completely. This method of operation is, in marked contrast to? the present practice mice I tions of the control unit.

signing flow control valves to provide a flow which is graduated in accordance with the quantity of water required to'maintain constant humidity. While such methods are theoretically desirable, experience has shown that it is sometimes difficult to effect a full closure of the valve when this gradual opening'and closing method is employed. The present valve will close rapidly and completely and, except possibly under unusual conditions, will open rapidly. With a sensitive and accurate control, and a proper choice of the size of the calibrated orifice 9, no difficulty isexperienced in maintaining the desired humidity when the control valve is moved rapidly between its extreme positions.

a The present invention has the further advantage that the hygroscopic element operates only through short periods of time in opening and in closing the valve, thus avoiding the possibility'of fatigue over a long period of operation rate control over long periodsand without the necessity of frequent adjustments or calibra- The'several parts of the valve may be made of any appropriate materials. The measuring orifice bushing Hi, the valve seat 'member 3 and the valve are preferably formedof monel metal, while the casing and bracket may be of brass.

It will be apparent that the sensitivity of the control is determined by the amount of offset between the axis of the main portion of lever 2| and its pivot p'ointyby the clearance between the valve head I! and thelever 2| when the valve ,is seated, and by the relative length of the lever arms.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood thatvarious changes may be made in the several parts and in their relative size, shape and location without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a humidity control valve, a valve casing having a flexible wall portion, a valve therein, a

bracket extending laterally of said valve casing, a hygrostatic control element mounted on said bracket, and a lever connected to said control element and pivotally supported from saidbracket, said lever extending through said flexible wall portion to actuate said valve.

2. In a valve of the type stated, a valve casing having a valve chamber therein, a flexible mem: ber forming a part'of the ,wall of said chamber, a valve in said chamber, a valve'actuating member extending through said flexible member, means supporting said'actuating member for movement to actuate said valve, said supporting means being so positioned that fluid pressure on said flexible member tends to move said actuating means in one direction, and a hygrostatic control'element for moving said actuating memher in the opposite direction.

3. In a valve of the type stated, a valve casing,

said sylphon bellows, and a hygrostatic element for moving said valve actuating member against the force exerted thereon by said sylphon bellows.

4. In a humidity control valve, a casing having inlet and'outlet ports, avalveseat and valve between said ports, a valveoperatcr comprising a lever having one end thereof pivotally supported posing movement of saidoperator in said'direction with a force which is greater in closed position of said valve than in open position thereof, said yielding means exerting a force approximately along said lever and in a line oflset from said fixed pivotal supporting point by a greater distance when said valve isclosed than when the valve is open. i

5. In a humidity control valve, a casing having inlet and outlet ports, a valve seat and valve between said ports, a valve operator, a hygrostatic element for moving said operator to open said valve, means restricting the flow of, fluid from said inlet port to said valve seat to a lower rate than the flow of fluid from said valve seat to said outlet port when said valve, is open, and yielding means comprising a sylphon bellows actuated by, the fluid pressure at the inlet side of the valve seat for opposing said movement of the operator with a force which decreases upon the opening of said valve.

6. A valve of the type including a valve casing having a valve chamber'therein, a valve port and valve controlling the flow of fluid from said .chambenmeans actuated by the fluid pressure within said chamber'to produce a force opposing. opening movement of said valve, and hygrostatic means for opening said valve, characterized by the flow of fluid into said chamber to a lower rate than the flow of fluid from said chamber when said valve is open, whereby the force exerted by said fluid pressure actuated means decreaseswith the opening of said valve.

7. In 'a humidity control valve, a valve casing having inlet and outlet ports, a valve chamber between said ports, a seat member in a wall of valve member seating in the direction of fluid 3 said chambensaid seat member being counterbored to receive and guide a valve member, said flow, an actuating member for unseating said valve, a hygrostatic control element for moving said actuating member to unseat said valve, and

yielding means opposing movement of said actux ating member by said-hydrostatic control memfiber. w

8. In a humidity cotrol valve, a valve casing, a,

valve member therein having an intermediate portion of less diameter than its'ends, a-valve actuator having an opening therethroughin which the reduced diameter section of said valve member is located, one endportion of said valve member having,substantially the same transverse. dimensions as the openingin said valve actuator, thereby retaining said valve member having a valve chamber therein, a sylphon bellows forming apart of the wall of said chamber,a,valve seat and valve for controlling the flow of fluid frorn said chamber, alever for oper ating said valve and extending to the exterior of i said chamber through 3 said sylphon bellows, a bracket connected to said valve casing, means supporting said lever on said bracket and for pivotal movement about a point offset from the f line of application of the force exerted upon said lever by said sylphon bellows, a hygrostatic con: the fact that meansis provided for restricting v trol element on said bracket, and means connecting said control element and said lever.

10. The invention as set "forth in claim 9 wherein said pivotal supporting means is so 10-,

cated thatthe force exerted by said sylphon bellows tends to movesaid lever to valve-closing p0 sition, and said hygrostatic element moves said 

